Which lizardfish?

[itziar]

I spotted a small colony of these mystery critters (~10 individuals) in one of the reefs of Veracruz, Mexico (Gulf Coast) this week, on a sand patch at ~70 ft. I do not have a photograph of the fishes (maybe Santa will bring me a camera next Xmass ..., Please?), but I think I can accurately describe them. I attach, admitedly, a not very artistic sketch of my description, in case my English is not clear enough.

The 10 individuals were scattered in an area of 2x2 square meters, each of them being ~20cm (8 in) long. The body shape and mouth were similar to those of the snakefish in the Humann & DeLoach book (p. 369, 3rd edition), or in http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Trachinocephalus&speciesname=myops but, unlike in the description given in these resources, the fishes were white (or light grey) head to tail, with ~8 diffused broad black blotches in the body, similar to those that appear in the photograph of the H&DeL book. No notizable yellow and blue stripes, as far as I could tell.

Each individual was half hidden or near a sand carved burrow, which had an inclined angle and cave entrance. I was able to approach them ~0.5m, and they did not seem to mind my presence.

Some specific questions for those of you who know better:

- are the stripes in snakefish a definitive feature in order to ID them?

- Are there any other lizards with such blunt heads and lips that I
can look at?

Thanks for any help you might provide,

Itziar :06:

 

[archman]

What about the good 'ol inshore lizardfish, Synodus foetens? They're common as dirt in the Gulf of Mexico, though usually not "colonial" as you describe.

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=2719&genusname=Synodus&speciesname=foetens

You may also want to consider jawfishes (Opisthognathids). Synodontids aren't exactly great burrowers... jawfish live for it however. They also have blunt heads, as opposed to the er, elongate lizard-like heads of the synodontids.

Fishbase kinda sux with jawfish pictures and information.

 

[itziar]

Hi archman,

I have seen Inshore Lizardfishes in these reefs too, but these did not seem to be that to me:

1.- The heads and mouth areas were more round, very blunt, with downward lips
2.- the blotches were not regularly spaced. They were difussed, roughly of the same size, but of no particular geometrical or positional pattern. They were not diamonds, like I have seen in the Inshore Lizardfishes of the area.

Thanks for the suggestion, though, I would like to gather a list of possibilities for my next dive in the area. I am going to look into the jawfish possibility. I had never noticed one before, so I would need to check on the fishbase now.

-- Itziar